Archive for October, 2011

Tonight I’m drinking some Blackened Voodoo Lager, a schwarzbier by the Dixie Brewing Company of New Orleans, LA. The brewery was severely damaged and heavily looted during Katrina and during the ongoing renovations, the beer released under the Dixie label is brewed through contracting to other breweries.

This beer pours a really muddy brown with two fingers of cream-colored foam with a roasted nut and malty aroma. The malt carries over to the taste, but a bit of hops start to show up with it. Not overpowering hops. Just enough hops. It’s a bit watery compared to some of the more serious beers I’ve had, but for this beer it’s not a bad thing. This is a beer I could sit and drink all evening. So, my Louisiana friends take note and have some on hand when I come to visit. I’m almost done with my glass already and am starting to wish I’d picked up more than the single bottle. This is definitely going on the list of favorite beers to sit and drink in a bar with some friends.

Blackened Voodoo is a solid beer. There’s nothing weird or gimmicky about this beer, but that’s what makes it good. Drink some.

Tonight I’m drinking Alimony Ale by Buffalo Bill’s Brewery in Hayward, CA. The bottle and web site both tout this beer as different and eccentric. We’ll see about that…

This is an IPA and pours a dark hazy amber with a two finger head and tons of carbonation. So that’s different from most IPA’s…one point to the beer. The scent is very citrusy and grassy with the hoppiness that comes standard with an IPA. Exactly what I’d expect from this beer type…one point for me. The taste hits you with a ton of hops up front with some caramel and malt sneaking in around the edges. One point to the beer for the caramel and one for me for the hopsplosion. As it warms, it’s starting to taste like an American Amber up front with the hops only coming through on the finish. That’s a bit odd…one point to the beer. I find it more enjoyable than other IPA’s I had simply because as it warms it tastes less like an IPA.

If you’re new to craft beers and are still in the Shiner Bock/Yuengling/Firestone DBA/Fat Tire phase of beer drinking, this might be a good intro into other beer types. Also if you typically prefer Ambers, Barleywines, or ESBs, this would make a good intro to IPA beer.

I’m a couple of tasting evenings behind in my beer reviews. It turns out I like drinking beer much more than writing about it. And I just got a new beer haul that’s begging to be drunk. So it looks like I really need to get moving on the writing part or I’ll just wind up with piles of notebooks like some kind of OCD hoarder.

Anyway, let me tell you about Anchor Steam Beer. The Anchor Brewing Company’s been brewing beer in San Francisco since 1896. Historically, steam beer referred to West Coast lagers brewed in primitive conditions without ice or refrigeration, but the term has since been trademarked by the Anchor Brewing Co. and the style is now called “California Common.”

It pours a clear dark amber with a creamy head and a hoppy bitterness/mildly malty scent. The taste really reminds me of unsweetened iced tea…kind of citrus and caramel. Really interesting and easy to drink. Not overly carbonated and only 4.9% abv make this very nice for sitting around drinking with friends when you just want a nice beer you don’t need to think about too much. There’s nothing exciting about it, but that’s good sometimes.

Another beer from my last beer tasting is Samuel Smith Taddy Porter. I got the bottle from a friend for my birthday, so we drank it together at my last beer evening. It was very nearly black with a creamy tan head. Something about the scent reminded me of being outside, but I couldn’t quite place it. Perhaps “woody” is what I was searching for…I’ll have to revisit it later. The taste was sweet and smooth, like an iced coffee. This was very smooth and light for a porter. I really enjoyed this beer, but I’d like to try it again after reading a few reviews by other people. I really just want to place that outdoorsy scent.

I initially picked up a bottle of this at my local chain liquor store, but before trying it I actually went back for another to age for awhile before drinking. I’m just going to stick it away somewhere and let it gather dust for awhile. Eventually I’ll run across it again and remember my plan and open it with a friend.

I’ve had other beers from the Fuller’s Brewery before and quite enjoyed them so I have high expectations for this one. This is a bottle conditioned Old Ale and a limited edition; only 95K are made each year.

I had a friend over for a beer tasting evening last week and this was our opener. It poured a beautiful hazy red amber with a very yeasty smell. The taste was kind of like a really good loaf of sourdough with some bitterness. It had a pretty strong alcohol taste, but felt really creamy.

I really enjoyed this beer and look forward to trying the other in a few years. I think the alcohol taste might mellow out a bit by then.

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